France Football has released its 30-player shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d’Or, and the headline news was that Lionel Messi was not among the nominees for the first time since 2005.
While the Argentine’s omission was slightly controversial (it’s not as if he was going to win the award anyway), a universally popular choice has been for players to be judged over the course of a season rather than a calendar year, making it a bit easier to rate just how they did.
We’ve sliced France Football’s shortlist in half to give us 15 frontrunners and ranked them based on their chances of winning. Let’s get stuck in.
Club: AC Milan
Relevant stats: 51 games, 18 goals, 18 assists
Team honours: Serie A
Individual honours: Serie A MVP
23-year-old Leao has been touted to become a superstar for a few years now, and this was the season where he stepped up, leading Milan’s charge to their first Scudetto since 2011.
Club: Manchester City
Relevant stats: 61 games, 4 goals, 13 assists, 25 clean sheets
Team honours: Premier League
Individual honours: PFA Team of the Year
Whether playing on the left or the right, attacking full-back Cancelo became a staple of Manchester City’s title-winning side, moving away from Pep Guardiola’s FPL rotation and becoming a key man.
Club: Manchester City
Relevant stats: 60 games, 15 goals, 11 assists
Team honours: Premier League
Individual honours: PFA Team of the Year
For a brief period at the start of the season, Silva looked to be making a charge for the PFA Player of the Year award. His form tailed off a little, but he was still one of the Premier League’s most impressive players.
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Relevant stats: 55 games, 27 goals, 10 assists
Team honours: None
Individual honours: Premier League Golden Boot
23 Premier League goals, zero penalties. Somehow omitted from the PFA Team of the Year. Yes, I’m still angry about it.
Club: Real Madrid
Relevant stats: 59 games, 24 clean sheets
Team honours: La Liga, Champions League, Supercopa de Espana
Individual honours: Champions League Team of the Season, Champions League final Man of the Match
Courtois has spoken at length about how he feels disrespected by the media, that…
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